Gold Belt Tour Scenic Byway
Shelf Road Part 2

Well, I'm almost down to Garden Park. Once I turn that curve in the road behind that SUV coming up, the road goes up through a side canyon, over the mesa and then drops into the upper end of Garden Park. That rock wall on the left side of the photo continues its' slow drop in elevation for miles as it marks the eastern edge of that beautiful valley I keep calling Garden Park (and it is gorgeous: wide, flat, lush, ranching and farming country with paved, year-round maintained access). I'm told Garden Park has a large Fossil Area somewhere in it but I didn't come across any signs pointing to it. As for that SUV coming up, the road has gotten a little wider here with a few more pull-outs and he found one big enough to pull into and let the folks from Kansas and myself get by safely.